‘We need to do a lot of character work before we begin our scripts, in order to make sure they are sufficiently psychologically rich. Ask yourself if your character is interesting enough for people to be deeply curious about their motivations and desperate to see what they are going to do next.’
– Molly Taylor, NCW tutor and co-writer and creator of Sky One comedy After Hours.
For stage or the screen
Are you a writer of performance, screen or stage?
From theatre to film, TV to documentary, scripts are the basis of many types of performance. From tips and tricks upcoming script writing courses, this is the place for budding script and screen writers.
National Centre for Writing has a deep love of scriptwriting of all kinds. Here is your one-stop shop for scriptwriting, screenwriting and writing for the stage.
What’s on — upcoming events, workshops & courses
Develop your script development skills for your preferred medium, gain insights from industry experts and enjoy the artform of theatre through our upcoming events and practical courses.
Five essential scriptwriting tips from Femi Kayode
The award-winning stage and screenwriter offers key advice for getting the most of your character’s dialogue.
This is part of our Early Career Writers’ Resources pack Dialogue, made possible with the generous support of by Arts Council England. Discover more here →
Flip the script
Podcast: How to Write a Script with Molly Naylor
In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, we speak with writer and performer Molly Naylor about how to write a script.
20 November 2023
5 common scriptwriting mistakes (and how to fix them)
Molly Naylor shares her top tips and techniques for writing a script, then identifying and fixing common scriptwriting mistakes.
16 March 2022
Crime screenwriting 101
Novelist and screenwriter Tom Benn offers his top tips for writing crime dramas for television and film, including how to keep suspense alive and when it’s best used.
5 September 2016
Rob Shearman on structure
Structure is every bit as important as the more commonly discussed aspects of a novel, with even unconscious decisions impacting significantly on how a story is interpreted.
There are countless ways to structure a story. The decisions you make will fundamentally define the experience of your readers. In this article, award-winning writer Rob Shearman examines the importance of structure.
This article is part of our Early Career Writers’ Resources pack Structure, made possible by Arts Council England. Discover more here →
Work adapted for the screen
Patron Margaret Atwood in conversation
Margaret Atwood joins us to discuss adapting The Handmaid’s Tale for screen, writing in Norwich and how the emergence of online streaming platforms has made it possible for her books to be adapted for screen.
29 June 2018
Researching for crime novels with Peter James
In this episode of The Writing Life, Peter James discusses researching for crime novels. Peter James is best known for his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, now a hit ITV drama starring John Simm as the troubled Brighton copper.
18 November 2024
To Olivia – adapting book to screen
In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, we talk to author Stephen Michael Shearer and director John Hay about To Olivia, the film adaptation of Stephen’s book An Unquiet Life.
17 February 2021
Download free character templates
Every writer has their own way of creating and developing characters.
As with so many things to do with writing, there’s no exact right or wrong way – but it is worth trying a few approaches to find out what works for you. In this article, Simon K Jones shares some quick ways to get started…
Includes physical description templates and character backstory templates, plus other considerations like the Dungeons & Dragons alignment matrix.
More for script writers
For script and screen writers:
Playwrights East is a regional network for playwrights in the East of England, run by theatre company HighTide.
The Scriptwriters Group is a community of scriptwriters and broadcasters. It represents writers and makers across digital, broadcast, AV and theatre.
Writers’ Guild of Great Britain is a trade union for writers of film, TV, theatre, video games and animation.
The Royal Television Society is an educational charity promoting the art and science of television.
Scribe Lounge is free or premium group for screenwriters.
London Playwrights supports a community of emerging playwrights.
Scriptwriting prizes:
General scriptwriting prizes:
- BBC Writers Open Call: is an annual open submission opportunity for all writers aged 18+ and resident in the UK or Republic of Ireland.
Screen scriptwriting prizes:
- British Screenwriters’ Award celebrates the best in screenwriting in UK TV and film, as well as platforming new talent.
- BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Competition: is a platform for aspiring screenwriters that runs twice a year, supporting the next generation of film, games and TV talent.
- Raindance Film Festival Script Competition offers opportunities to emerging screenwriters.
- The UK Film Festival Script Competition: includes four competitions aimed at the opportunity of production as its prize.
- Channel 4 New Writers Scheme is a one-stop-shop for unrepresented writers with a burning desire to write TV drama.
- British Film Institute offers multiple competitions throughout the year from the world of film.
Theatre scriptwriting prizes:
- The International Audio Drama Competition: is a global competition, hosted by BBC World Service and the British Council for international screenwriters.
- The Brentwood Prize for Playwriting is a theatre-based scriptwriting competition in association with the Royal Exchange Theatre.
- The Women’s Prize for Playwriting is an award for female and non-binary playwrights.
- All-England Theatre Festival is a 6-month one-act competition across the country, made up of several rounds.
- Young Playwrights Award showcases playwrights aged 13-18 and their plays.
Audio scriptwriting prizes:
- Imison Award is an annual prize to celebrate audio drama scriptwriting.
- Tinniswood Award is a prize to find the best original audio drama script.
- BBC Audio Drama Awards is an annual prize to celebrate audio dramas.
Scriptwriting festivals:
- London Screenwriters’ Festival is a 3-day festival with in-person and online, plus hosting the British Screenwriters’ Award in April.
- National Student Drama Festival is an open-call festival for writers, performers and producers aged 16-25 in April.
- London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) is a biennial celebration of theatre, culture and performance in November.